Author: kat_richardson

Slang from Storm Waters, Parts 5 & 6

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Choice Morsel & Bughouse:

Friday got away from me so today you get two slang terms from the 1920s: Choice Morsel and Bughouse (the adjective, not the noun, but you probably figured that out already.) Neither of these are particularly nice terms, but they get the point across without being overly crass.

Choice Morsel: (n) person who can do no wrong (in someone’s eyes, including their own.) Generally used ironically.

Bughouse/buggy/bugs: (adj) crazy, mentally unstable, unpredictable. Eg: “he’s gone bughouse”. Also the root of the nicknames “Bugs” and “Bugsy.” (Yup, that bunny is nuts!)

“His mom thinks he’s a choice morsel, but his ex-wife’ll tell you he’s totally bughouse.”

 and casts a negative light on mental illness. On the other hand, I’m fine with “choice morsel” applied to anyone who plainly believes in their own superiority.

Dark haired man with a smug expression on his face holding up a coffee cup as if he is toasting himself.

 

Slang from Storm Waters, Part 4

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Broderick: 

A term that has vanished completely, although I doubt the activity has. In period crime fiction of the 1920s through 1940s, “the Broderick” shows up with fair frequency. I guess the closest terms today would be “tune up,” or “work over” even though those are also a bit dated, now. If you can suggest another current term, please leave a comment.

Broderick (the): (n) severe, usually methodical, beating. Derived from real life NYPD detective John Broderick, notoriously violent head of the Gangster Squad, which was established during Prohibition. Usage as in: “Give ‘im the Broderick, boys. And don’t hold back.”

Having now weathered the US election, I’m hoping that no one is feeling that giving anyone the Broderick is a good idea.

gray-scale Venn diagram shaped like a flower showing the intersections of linguistic and cultural origin and influences that create slang—shown as a black dot in the center, like the center of a flower with the influences radiation out and overlapping like the petals.

 

Slang from Storm Waters, Part 3

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The Bird (Give The Bird)

Hey, a term that hung on for a looooooong time and comes from the 1920s, but was still in use into the early 1970s in some places. Which is why I have to differentiate between this “bird” and the “bird” that is flipped via a finger beginning in the late 1950s/early 1960s (this is a bit hard to pin down.) The obnoxious noise implies a degree of derision or disapproval without being overtly obscene (though that noise… well, you know.)

Give the bird: (v) blow a raspberry/”Bronx cheer”; make a derogatory sound with the lips. (not  the flipping of a middle finger.)

I have no idea why the New York City borough of the Bronx gets the nod for this noise, but there it is. Maybe folks from the Bronx are just particularly good at expressing their disgust without actually saying a word. Given that we’ve just emerged from a highly-charged Presidential election cycle here in the United States, I have no doubt there are plenty of people giving others the bird today (of both varieties.) All together, now: put your tongue between your lips and make a very rude noise!

In front of a brick wall, head and shoulders of a young man with curly brown hair "blowing a razberry" or "bronx cheer" with his tongue sticking out between his lips and his cheeks puffed out to make a rude noise.

 

Slang from Storm Waters, Part 2

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All Rung Up:

Continuing with the daily slang term from the 1920s and 30s. Will you be celebrating tonight when the election returns come in? Maybe you’ll be “All rung up.” No, you won’t be on the phone until you’re exhausted, nor will you and your party be on the trash pile of election history. Instead, you will be dressed to impress!

All rung up: (adj) dressed in fancy clothes or costume; may imply evening clothes.

This odd phrase shows up in plenty of pulp descriptions of the 1920s and into the early 1940s, when it faded out. Keep an eye out for this phrase when you read Storm Waters.

black and white charcoal sketch of people in many different fancy costumes

 

Slang from Storm Waters Part 1

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All Balled Up

So, Storm Waters comes out next week from Fairwood press, and since it’s set in Los Angeles in 1934, I thought I’d post a slang term from the period every day until the book is out. So let’s start with something that might be appropriate, considering that tomorrow is Election Day in the USA:

All balled up: (v) confuse; make a mess of; get something wrong. Eg: “You got it all balled up!”

Because no matter how this election goes, someone will claim it was all balled up. Whatever else you do, don’t ball up your chance to vote!

 

Noir At the Bar!

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Black, white and Red flyer for Noir at the Bar. Reads: Noir at the Bar. Ladies Night. October 24, 2024. 8PM. Hosted by Scotti Andrews & Bethany Maines

Tonight! (10/24)

I’m going to be reading first so, if you’re interested in hearing me read the first (or maybe the second) chapter from my upcoming Noir fantasy novel Storm Waters, be there early!

Tonight’s Readers: Kat Richardson (me), Lisa Liebeman, J.M. Phillippe, Laurie Rockenbeck, Bethany Maines, Kate Jackson, Roz Ray, and Scotti Andrews.

The Alibi Room, off Post Alley in Downtown Seattle, is located under Pike Place Market, just down from the information kiosk. Starting at 8PM, there will be swearing. There will be drinking. There will be women behaving badly. And that’s even before we start reading! See you there!

 

Find Me!

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OryCon This Weekend

So, I’m off to OryCon in Portland OR this weekend. And it appears I’ll have a lot of free time. I have nothing on schedule for Friday, and nothing on Saturday after Noon, so… If you’re in attendance and want to catch up to me, or if you have an editing/writing question or two, look for me around the bar, greenroom, or whatever the obvious common area is in the new hotel. I’m even willing to look over bits of manuscript so long as it’s 3k or less. Drop me an email or just… I dunno… show up.

 

Signings, and Readings, and Cons, Oh My!

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Storm Waters novel cover: Above a sea green background the name "Kat Richardson" in Yellow deco-style font" with the title "Storm Waters" in white at the bottom and a quote from Cherie Priest saying "A pitch-perfect killer noir." Curling around three sides of the cover is a navy blue skeleton of some giant reptile lying beneath the water; a skeletal human hand reaches up from the creature, poised to snatch a small white speed boat from the surface as it races up the cover from the O in Storm toward the author's name above. at the very bottom of the cover are the words "A new thriller by the National Bestselling Author of Greywalker."

Events 2024!

Oh, my gosh! I’ve been so busy updating the Events page here! and there’s been so much happening all of a sudden that I’ve really fallen behind about posting. So let me round this up for all y’all:

Storm Waters is still on track for a mid-November release, but pre-release copies may be available in October at OryCon, October 18-20 (find me and I’ll tell you if we got any to the show and where to get them) and I’ll also be reading from the book on that Sunday. I’ll be reading from the book at Noir at the Bar in Seattle on October 24 at the Alibi Room under Pike Place Market. And I’ll be hanging out and signing books with author Tamara Kaye Sellman at Saltwater Bookshop in Kingston WA November 23. For more information, see the Events page!

Check back for more events, if I can wrangle some.

Oh yeah: and Storm Waters got it’s first review. A very nice little tease from Fran Fuller at Seattle Mystery Bookshop Newsletter. Scroll down to the “What We’ve Been Up To” section and look for Fran’s tag and the title “She’s Back!”

 

Blurbs!

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People Say the Nicest Things

I’m so pleased I could wag. But instead I shall just put this really cool quotes up here that have come in for Storm Waters. I’m just… Whoohooo!

 

“Storm Waters is a pitch-perfect killer noir — punched up with magic, and keenly imagined by a master of the form.” 
     — Cherie Priest, author of Flight Risk

“I fully expected Humphrey Bogart to rise from his grave and volunteer to narrate Storm Waters. Kat Richardson has managed to capture that gritty noir feel of post-prohibition Hollywood. Marty Storm is tortured–physically and also just really messed up emotionally–and the mystery takes twists I wasn’t expecting. It’s a noir and stormy ride.”
     — Mary Robinette Kowal, award-winning author of The Lady Astronaut series

“Kat Richardson delivers a weird fantasy mystery that will delight fans of Philip Marlowe and Jim Butcher! Wild twists, devious plotting, sparkling dialogue, and a lot of bone-deep chills. Highly recommended!”
     — Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of NecroTek and editor of Weird Tales Magazine 

Yes, I’m bragging. Yes, the book is still on schedule for release in November. Yes, you can still preorder the print edition and save a few bucks. And Yes, you can still get the free short stories at Prolific Works.

Storm Waters novel cover: Above a sea green background the name "Kat Richardson" in Yellow deco-style font" with the title "Storm Waters" in white at the bottom and a quote from Cherie Priest saying "A pitch-perfect killer noir." Curling around three sides of the cover is a navy blue skeleton of some giant reptile lying beneath the water; a skeletal human hand reaches up from the creature, poised to snatch a small white speed boat from the surface as it races up the cover from the O in Storm toward the author's name above. at the very bottom of the cover are the words "A new thriller by the National Bestselling Author of Greywalker."

 

Chattering Away

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I’m on The Corner of Story and Game

 

I was very pleased to chat with Gerald Ford (no relation to any US President) about writing across genre lines, on his video/podcast about the intersection of game development and story creation. So here’s the whole thing on YouTube, or you can listen to the podcast on Spotify by clicking the link below.